What criteria must roadmaps for a peace settlement follow?

With the date for the withdrawal of foreign forces fast approaching in line with the Doha agreement, an environment conducive to an intra-Afghan solution is present and political leaders are presenting their varying views regarding a settlement for the Afghan conflict.

It is worthy of praise that various circles and personalities are interested in solving the Afghan crisis and are presenting their valuable insight on the matter. However, one important point ought to be kept at the forefront: any roadmap for Afghanistan must take into consideration the Afghan people’s religious, historical, cultural and societal realities in order to prove beneficial.

Various political and military proposals have proven unsuccessful for the reason that they ignored the aspirations of our people. Western and Eastern imperialistic powers would form solutions based on foreign values, and even though they looked pretty on paper and attracted much media coverage, they were ineffective on a practical level because of the prevailing ground realities.

Some fundamental points that need to be kept at the forefront in deciding any strategy for Afghanistan are as follows: Afghanistan is an Islamic country, its population are Muslims (by both belief and practice) and over several decades they have offered countless sacrifices for Islam and freedom. Therefore, let all plans made for the future of Afghanistan respect the sacred religious values and decades-long sacrifices of the Afghan people. The trust of this nation cannot otherwise be attained.

The Afghan people desire complete independence and nationwide security. Everything from politics, economics, culture and education to social life must be follow our religious values. This is because Afghans do not desire the elimination of military aggression alone, but also the termination of western political, cultural and ideological invasion.

Therefore, it is the responsibility of Afghanistan’s political circles that they attempt to solve matters in a way suitable to the aspirations of the Afghan people. If, God forbid, past failures are experimented with again and the strategies of foreigners given precedence, then the accountability of this world and the hereafter will be harsh.